When the Fort Lewis College men’s basketball season came to a close last Saturday night in Canyon, Texas, after a first-round loss in the NCAA Division II tournament, one of the most storied careers in program history came to an end.
Rasmus Bach, a five-year Skyhawk, saw his career come to an end with a 78-62 loss at Texas A&M Commerce in the South Central Region Tournament. The 6-foot-4 guard from Austin, Texas, finished with 98 wins, the most of any player in program history. He also came up only 20 points shy of the career scoring record of 1,861 points, set by DeAndre Lansdowne from 2007-11. Bach’s 1,841 points are second-most, in front of Alex Herrera’s 1,758 and Tim Bieri’s 1,691.
Bach finds himself in company with the Mount Rushmore of Skyhawks.
“It’s just an honor and credit to the coaching staff for putting me in the right spots to be successful,” Bach said shortly after last Saturday’s loss. “I didn’t have many offers coming out of high school, but they saw the potential in me from Day 1, and they really put me in great spots to succeed.
“To be considered one of the best is a true honor, and I’m sure in a couple of year it will really, really sink in and I’ll appreciate what I’ve done here.”
Bach was named to the All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference First Team for his performance as a senior. Friday, he added another accolade as a National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II All-South Central District First Team. As a junior, Bach was named to the D2CCA NCAA Division II South Central Region Second Team.
He is now a two-time All-RMAC first team selection to go with All-RMAC second team honors his sophomore season and the RMAC freshman of the year award in 2015.
“Ras had just a wonderful five-year career,” FLC head coach Bob Pietrack said after last week’s season-ending loss. “He represents everything that is right with Division II athletics as far as the student-athlete can be concerned. He’s a wonderful young man to coach, a great representative of our college, and we’re gonna miss all of these seniors.”
Bach was born in Denmark and then spent 12 years in Australia before he moved to Texas. As a senior, he averaged 14.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and a career-high 3.6 assists per game. He averaged double-digit scoring all four years of his career and finished with an average of 14.5 points and five rebounds per game.
He ranks second in program history in made free throws (497), third in made field goals (615), fifth in assists (320) and eighth in rebounds (639).
He was part of the RMAC regular-season championship teams in 2016 and 2018, as well as the conference tournament championship in 2016. His teams made three NCAA tournament appearances and have gone 2-3 with two of the school’s biggest tournament wins against Dallas Baptist in 2016 and Tarleton State in 2017.
“We had a special year this year winning the RMAC regular season, which is a grind,” Bach said. “I love every single one of my teammates and the special bond with all of these guys over the years. I’m going to miss being part of the ’Hawk family.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
